Welcome to Theme Park Adventure's 365 Days of Halloween!

This page is dead-icated to the haunted attraction industry, since many of TPA fans are huge dark industry enthusiasts as well!  So why not have a permanent home here on TPA where we can showcase new haunts, inform readers of goings-on within the industry and simply enjoy our favorite time of year every day?

TPA's 365 Days of Halloween is for haunted attractions of all sizes - from simple home haunts to industrial powerhouses such as Sinister Pointe in Brea, California.  Big or small, it's all Halloween and it's all appreciated and enjoyed here on TPA by our staff and readers alike!

2009 Review by Rick West

While the name "Jeff Schiefelbein" may not roll easily off the tongue, everything else about him does come easily when it has to do with the dark industry and haunting the Hell out of Orange County in October.  Jeff's actually carved out quite a niche and has a very loyal following of fans - people that know that he loves creating unique, detailed and interactive Halloween experiences... and he's good at it.

In 2008, Jeff and his team created the wildly-successful SAW Haunted Attraction, in Brea, California.  Based on the popular film franchise, it was absolutely successful and one of Theme Park Adventure's favorite haunted attractions here in SoCal that year.

If you've been paying a lick of attention to anything going on here on TPA, you know that Universal Studios Hollywood picked up the whole SAW thing and ran with it in 2009 - a major departure from Jeff's hands-on haunt, but what can you do when a major theme park comes in and retains the rights to something you started?  You've gots ta let it go, which Jeff did - and in turn, he set out to create a bigger, better haunted attraction for the 2009 season.

Enter Sinister Pointe - twice the size of the 2008 attraction, featuring not one but two mazes plus a scare zone dubbed "Slaughter Yard" outside.

Taking the place of SAW, but retaining the same type of theme this time around was Fear.  Guests had to work their way through various "traps" and other nasty situations in order to gain passage and ultimately, their freedom from this Hell hole.  Such gags included grabbing "live wires" to complete a circuit, pulling on ropes to open an exit door (the wrong ropes caused spikes to shoot out of the walls at your group) and an awesome hammer seat room where four people had to sit back-to-back with giant mallets suspended above them; the group had to all sit down, facing their own hammers, and push down on foot pedals at the same time.  This turned the lights out in the room and released the hammers.  Squirting water in the darkness indicated that perhaps not everyone made it - ghoulish fun and absolutely one of the most genius rooms we've ever seen in a haunted house attraction.

The creative ingenuity that went in to Fear was wonderful - absolutely worthy of all the praise we can muster for Jeff and his crew.  The idea of having to work your way out of/through a maze via a series of nasty traps and scary puzzles - what an awesome experience!

One of the best haunted attraction elements Theme Park Adventure has ever seen in a maze took place in Fear.  I will try my best to explain it so you can picture it in your mind's eye:  One of the areas you entered in Fear was pitch black.  Really black.  The only light came from a small bit of text written in white on the wall to "Hold Down The Button" and a monitor on the other side of the room would show you the way out.  Guests would press the button, the monitor at the other end of the room would illuminate, but as soon as the button was left so the group could go to the monitor, the screen would go out; basically, the button was a dead man's switch - it had to remain held down to keep the monitor at the other side of the room on.  Inevitably, one or two people were stuck holding the button while the rest of the group made its way across the dark room, to the black and white monitor embedded in the far wall.  Once there, the group could see their friend in the monitor holding down the button, thanks to an infrared camera pointed on that spot.

What they also saw, thanks to the IR, was a huge creature looming over their unsuspecting friend holding the button down!  Screams would begin, the button would be let go and the room - and group - would be plunged into blackness again... this time, with the knowledge that they weren't at all alone!  Pure friggin' genius.  We LOVED this - and absolutely feel it was the single best haunted house gag we saw all season.  Hell, it was on of the best gags I have ever seen in a haunted house - and I've been through one or two in my life!

So, Fear became the new SAW, and everyone knew it - but it was actually better in most ways, because while the theme loosely was the same idea... the ideas were all original and unhampered by having to conform to the storyline of the Saw film franchise.  Jeff was able to let his imagination flow and bring whatever nightmares he wanted to life for Sinister Pointe guests.  It was totally amazing and we applaud Jeff's efforts so much.  I personally appreciated and enjoyed Fear much more than SAW.  I thought the creative drive demonstrated by each and every room was fantastic.  In fact, many of our readers have mentioned to me that they felt Fear was a much superior experience than SAW was.  That is great news for Jeff - because it shows that you don't need a big-name intellectual property to use as a theme to succeed at Halloween.

The soundtrack in Fear was a custom piece composed and performed by long-time friend of Theme Park Adventure, musician Jon Autopsy.

In fact, both Fear and Slaughter Yard were scored by Jon, and friendship aside, I'm here to say that his work was spot-on when it came to being complimentary to the maze as well as scare zone.  Music is critical in any attraction - haunted houses are definitely no exception to that.  Before Sinister Pointe opened, we went and spent the evening with Jon as he worked on what would become the musical signature of Sinister Pointe.  He spoke of his inspirations and his involvement with Jeff's attraction with us as he worked at bringing Sinister Pointe to life through his heavy, dark and gritty compositions.

Jeff and Jon have known each other for years - in fact, many moons ago, the two met at Jeff's haunted attraction that some of you may remember from the Irvine Spectrum: Realm of Darkness.  That was back in the day when Knott's Halloween Haunt didn't last the month of October; Jon's worked Haunt as a monster for years - and back then, when there were actually spare nights during the month, he and a few fellow Haunt monsters would head over to the Spectrum and join Jeff's crew scaring people all evening!  The two kept in touch over the years, which led to Jon asking Jeff for the opportunity to write a soundtrack score for one of his haunted attractions.  Jeff was always interested, but something always got in the way - and it just didn't materialize.

In fact, Jon shopped his musical talent around to a couple Orange County haunts over the years, including The Haunted Cellar.  Not discouraged by circumstance, Jon continued to try until finally, his number came up.  It was Jon's time to shine.

Upon hearing that Universal had retained the rights to the SAW maze, Jon approached Jeff once again with the offer to score Sinister Pointe for the 2009 season.  Jeff was interested, but faced with a problem many haunters are all too familiar with - he didn't have any money for an original soundtrack.

Here's the coolest part:  Jon wanted the gig so bad, he offered his services for free, in exchange for the exposure it would give him as a musician and artist.  The deal was made and Jon went to work on Sinister Pointe '09.  The two friends met early on at the site and Jeff walked Jon through what would be Fear inside of an abandoned movie theater - a creepy-ass building in its own right without the haunt installed.  Jeff was very specific in what he wanted from Jon Autopsy - music for the Fear maze, its queue and Slaughter Yard scare zone.  In total, Jon wrote and performed more than 30 minutes of original music for Sinister Pointe. 

As a haunt aficionado himself, Jon believes you shouldn't have to hear the same music more than once while experiencing a haunted attraction, so he set out to create original tracks for Sinister Pointe that would enhance the experience while ensuring that guests wouldn't hear the same music twice.  It was a big project for him, but a very rewarding one.  While scoring Sinister Pointe was a challenge, Jon drew his inspiration from different sources close to him - roommates that program rap music, other Halloween Haunt monster friends that have musical backgrounds and aspirations, and professional bands that Jon knows and respects - Blackcentr, Psyclon Nine and Combichrist.

The result was a fantastic soundtrack for Sinister Pointe, that can be heard playing on the attraction's official web page.

Theme Park Adventure is really proud of Jon and we are very impressed by the work he did for Sinister Pointe.  Jeff absolutely got a bargain in this arrangement - and we sincerely hope that great things happen for Jon as a result; he truly deserves it and we expect big things from him as an artist.  Much love, Jon.

Sinister Pointe's second maze was perhaps its most high-profile draw in 2009: Silent Hill.

Based on the wildly popular Silent Hill video game and motion picture franchise, the maze was very true to the scenes and characters that fans have come to recognize with sometimes fanatical fervor.  Doing the best he could within budget and in concert with Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Jeff set out on a very ambitious task - to re-create the world of Silent Hill for Sinister Pointe visitors to enjoy.

I am not familiar with Silent Hill video games and I only saw the film once on DVD.  It's safe to say that I was representative of the portion of Sinister Pointe guests not understanding exactly what I was seeing or experiencing.  So all I had to judge were the rich visuals and really enthusiastic and good work of the maze's talent.  Silent Hill was great on both counts.

The talent in Silent Hill was really energetic - and we'd be remiss not spending a good portion of this review mentioning the unreal job the Nurse crew did.  Talk about an attraction within an attraction!  The ladies that became the Nurses of Silent Hill did a superb job - and not only had to work it out non-stop as maze monsters night after night, they also had to put up with the immature and purely stupid antics from guys of all ages treating them rudely or in some cases, even touching them.  It doesn't make a bit of difference how a character is dressed - there is no excuse for touching or harassing talent.  Never.  However, these women kicked ass night after night and let the foolishness of some roll off their backs and really put their all into it - delighting fans and maze visitors alike.  And sooner than later, these women bacame the talk of Sinister Pointe and the dark industry fan community in Southern California in general.  Like so often happens with female groups of characters at Knott's Halloween Haunt, the Nurses of Silent Hill became the star attraction of the maze and totally had people talking.  Major kudos and props to each of you - you all did a Hell of a wonderful job, let alone were amazingly strong when guys so often reverted to being total pigs toward you.  Huge respect from us to each of you.

We monitored reaction to the Silent Hill maze on fan sites of the franchise and the reviews were mixed.  Some people really thought it was incredible and traveled long distances to visit the attraction.  Other people were really crappy about it and panned it heavily - which is really too bad, but honestly, is to be expected from fans posting online; you get that anywhere you have passionate folks protecting their "thing", you know?  It just sucks that people pan Jeff for Silent Hill not being some multi-million dollar extravagant maze production that is perfect in every way.

Of course, none of the people being critical would likely have the slightest clue about what goes into making such an attraction, nor would they probably know how to do it a fraction as well as Jeff did.  But I guess that's beside the point - to each his own.

As stated, I am not a Silent Hill person - but I thought the maze was really nicely done.  The visuals were great, the music and soundtrack was awesome (and was from the Silent Hill folks - which is why Jon Autopsy didn't work on the musical aspects of this particular part of Sinister Pointe) and the talent was kicking ass every time we went through the maze.  There were scares, some epic scenes, great guest interaction and some truly jaw-dropping props/robotics that were absolutely unexpected.

Let's talk about the prop to end all props in Silent Hill: Pyramid Head's massive sword.  At one point in Silent Hill, guests had to pass by a room where the huge sword came out and slashed back and forth just inches away from them.  They were separated by a chain-linked fence, but still... WOW!  WOW, WOW, WOW!  It was one of the most impressive mechanical props (the sword was mounted on a robotic arm) I've ever seen.  To go behind the room and watch this thing work really was amazing.  Knowing that Jeff and his team assembled such a gadget gave me such deep respect for them - just when I think I am totally proud of Jeff and his gang, they take it to another level and kick my ass all over again.  That's what I want in my haunted attraction experiences!

All of the major characters were represented in Silent Hill, with the most popular being the Nurses, as we already discussed.  Also present was Pyramid Head - a figure that has really developed a cult-like following that other horror film icons have through the years, including Rawhead Rex, Pumpkinhead or even Sam from Trick 'r Treat.  Pyramid Head at first made an appearance in Silent Hill as a static prop at the end of the maze.  Guests wanted more, Jeff wanted more, and so about half-way through the October run, a new, "real" Pyramid Head made his debut in the maze.  One thing that Jeff does - as does most every haunter out there - is continuously tweaks the show to get it as good as possible throughout its run.  That's good - it shows that he is hungry and strives for perfection in all that he does for his visitors.

In summing up the Silent Hill maze, I'd say that it was gorgeous to look at, and fun to experience.  It wasn't "terrifying" by any means - but I think that the Sinister Pointe crew deserve high marks for taking on something as ambitious as Silent Hill and really working it out.  Props to everyone involved; we can only hope that Konami was happy - because their product was very nicely represented and promoted here in this case.  Would I like to see Silent Hill return for the 2010 season of Sinister Pointe?  I guess it wouldn't kill me.  But I can't help but think that Jeff's strength lies in his own creative direction and ideas, as opposed to big name franchises such as SAW or Silent Hill.  I firmly believe that unless you're Universal Studios where you expect movie monsters and themes - that haunted attractions need to be able to stand on their own, without relying on a big guy in a hockey mask or red and green sweater with butter knives as fingers to be successful or scary.  Halloween is all about dark, ghoulish fun - so the more creative a haunted attraction is, the better I think it is - creativity at Halloween scores huge points with TPA, as you might have picked up on already!

Tying the whole attraction together in a neat and spooky package was the Slaughter Yard scare zone outside, complete with props, structures, fog and yes - roaming, sliding and lurking monsters.  The main entrance to Sinister Pointe brought guests directly through the scare zone before they got to the box office - a very cool touch that had many visitors quaking in their boots before they'd even plunked their cash down!  What a deal!

Sadly, the original facades and structures of Slaughter Yard were ass-kicked by some strong winds, so Jeff and his team had to re-build when they were already stressed for time and materials.  Mother Nature sucked for dropping that nugget on Sinister Pointe, but by opening night, no one knew - or cared; the monsters worked it, the guests were freaked out and that's that!

Accented by Jon Autopsy's ominous score, the talent that worked the scare zone was really good - no amateurs here, folks.  Not only did these guys scare the crap out of people arriving at Sinister Pointe, they made sure the lines for both mazes were entertained and terrified as well on crowded nights.  Huge props to these guys - the perfect mixture of scare tactics along with fantastic guest interaction skills made for a professional-grade experience for everyone.  There's nothing more awkward than roaming talent that sucks at crowd interaction - Jeff's crew doesn't need to worry about that at all; it's all-pro at Sinister Pointe and the guests love it.

And that about wraps up Sinister Pointe before I ramble on and on too long: professional, and guests love it.  This haunted attraction had it all - great design, amazing music and an on-fire group of people giving it their all night after night to make it all come together.

What does the sinister Mr. Schiefelbein have up his sleeve for 2010?

Think all-new location and "Fear 2.0"...

See you in October!

2009 Review by Rick West

The very notion of having a "haunted hayride" at Halloween time here in the Greater Los Angeles area made the drive out to the foothills of Calabasas totally worth it.  Of all the haunts Theme Park Adventure attended this past October, the LA Haunted Hayride definitely grabbed our attention and became one of the most-anticipated shoots for us of the season.

And the fact that it was the only haunted hayride in Los Angeles also was a huge help to this attraction, which brought out the curious from all over Southern California to see what it was all about.

For those who may be new to this concept, here's Hayride 101 in a nutshell... a bunch of people are loaded into a large "wagon" filled with hay (in this case, the event planners used straw - much more comfortable), and that wagon is dragged by a tractor through a large property.  On that property, you are taken through different scenes - and if the event is decent, you're attacked by monsters and basically, become a sitting target; helpless, screaming and at the mercy of the haunters.

LOVE that.

The LA Haunted Hayride took place on a very large property - the King Gillette Ranch (yes, that Gillette - there are huge residential structures that were designed for King C. Gillette in the 1920s by Wallace Neff, known as the architect of California's Golden Age).  Even though the 588-acre property belongs to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority in cooperation with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area unit of the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and California State Parks (insert breath here), when you're at the event, you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere.  No huge residential structures, no marked hiking trails, no indication that you're in a prime location for outdoors enthusiasts.  Stars shine brightly in the sky above and you can't see much of anything too far in front of you, because it's so dark.  But you can hear the screams.  Oh, yes.  You can hear screams in the dark - which is music to any haunt lover's ears.  Immediately, you know that there is some serious spookin' going on out there in the blackness somewhere.  It's awesome.

Even though this venue is a bit of a drive from the Greater Los Angeles area's most populous spots, the crowds can be impressive and the wait times a bit lengthy during peak operating hours.  Our suggestion is to hit this attraction next year either early in the season or when you do visit, hit it immediately at opening or toward the end of the night; you should be available to avoid the bulk of the crowds like that.  Regardless however, you need to simply GO.

It's a unique experience to be loaded with about 20 other strangers into a large straw-filled wagon.  Everyone giggles with unease and settles down as the standard, "Don't touch the actors and they won't touch you..." dialogue is recited.  Then, it's off into the darkness you go.

In the case of the LA Haunted Hayride, there are really nicely-lit, very elaborate sets that the wagons are pulled through.  This could either make or break a haunt of this type - and the folks behind this event really did a great job that did not disappoint.  In fact, we were very impressed by several of the scenes - nice sets, great show lighting and most of all, incredible talent.

The talent at the LA Haunted Hayride is what really needs to be pointed out in this review.  Unlike most other haunts, the company behind the event (Ten Thirty One Productions) hired professional actors - adults - that came from everywhere looking for work.  The quality of talent for this haunt was fantastic, which bode very well for guests.  And as I have said over and over, there is nothing better than a well-staffed haunted attraction that uses adult actors.  Unless a scene or setting calls for kids, there is nothing worse (usually) than going to a haunt and having it staffed by kids under 18.  Haunted Hayride doesn't have that issue - and the folks that are the talent for this event are top-notch and deliver a hell of a great experience.

In order to get the shots needed for this story, we were welcomed by the Haunted Hayride team and turned loose, to wander the property and do whatever we needed to get the pictures.  Some of you might be thinking that wandering through the pitch black with monsters lurking and people screaming would be terrifying.  It was for us, the exact opposite.  We had so much fun getting to chat with the monsters between wagons, and they were all so enthusiastic that we were there - it was one of the best shoots for Theme Park Adventure all October.  It was freezing, our noses were running and we had a blast.  God, if every attraction's crew was this professional and fun-loving, our jobs would be so much easier at Halloween!  Our most sincere thanks and unending props to the cast and crew of LA Haunted Hayride... an absolutely brilliant team.

We loved the whole experience - and everyone was so absolutely awesome that we actually ran into a problem.  We thought we'd timed and paced ourselves correctly - but at the end of the night, the event closed before its posted time (we went on a slow night during the week - definitely not peak hours), which made it impossible to shoot the last couple of scenes and groups of talent.  That killed us - and we apologize completely to the guys and gals that we didn't get to.  Know however, that you were all appreciated and all made this attraction a fantastic experience that left us completely stoked.

The ride itself is very long - much longer than we thought it would be; it took us about 25 minutes or longer to be taken through the different scenes.  The straw matting is comfortable mostly, and the experience is unique (at least to us city folks here in California).  The bottom line, is that everyone has a great time at this attraction; the guests and the monsters.  It's awesome, spooky fun that shouldn't be missed - and we're hoping that it comes back in 2010, so you all can check it out if you didn't during the 2009 run.

For those not brave enough to do the hayride portion of the haunt, the LA Haunted Hayride is also home to a carnival of sorts, with vendor booths, a palm readers, a hay maze for the younger kids and a mirror maze.  There's something for everyone - and that makes for a kick-ass night out.  This is what Halloween is all about - and we loved this attraction.

Much love and thanks to the entire LA Haunted Hayride team.  Jobs very well done!  Thank you for your enthusiasm and time - we cannot wait to visit you again!

2009 Review by Rick West

For years, I have known that The Haunted Hotel exists in the Gaslamp Quarter District of San Diego, but I had never gone to see it personally.  Until this year.  This Halloween, I decided to pull my head out of the Orange County circuit long enough to seal away into the night and head south to the land of Orcas and Howler Monkeys (that would be San Diego) and see what the hype was all about surrounding this 16-year old haunted attraction.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived was the line for this thing.  We're not talking a simple queue outside of the attraction, kids.  We're talking a line.  For blocks.  Miles.  Days. 

Okay, maybe not that big - but definitely a big friggin' line that goes for blocks, literally.  That might scare the "amateur" haunt fans away - but the good people of San Diego fall into line without thinking twice.  And with the amount of bars, restaurants and other assorted nightlife stops along the way, everyone is in great spirits as they wait - sometimes more than 90 minutes.  The atmosphere is very positive and exciting; we were there close to Halloween, so people were coming dressed in costumes, or at very least, wearing masks - it was a grand ol' time, and the entrance to maze wasn't even in sight!

Big props to the Hotel crew, because they had employees/monsters working the line from beginning to end, keeping patrons fired up with anticipation.  We thought this was a great way to pump everyone up as well as for the Hotel staff to make sure their shindig doesn't wreak havoc throughout downtown San Diego.  It shows a level of responsibility that amateur haunters likely wouldn't think about or perhaps wouldn't go for, for whatever reason.  It makes a difference and we were impressed.

It's obvious that The Haunted Hotel is celebrated as more of an "event" than a "haunted house".  You can tell that there is a lot of love for this attraction - so by the time you walk through the entrance, the excitement level is through the roof and patrons are just about to go mental before the first scare even comes.  It's hilarious!  And awesome!

Since this was literally, a whirlwind trip, we got to the attraction, met with its owner, Robert Bruce, walked through as guests once and then jumped right in and spent only about an hour or so shooting it.  And I can tell you that immediately, I was personally very frustrated that we didn't have any more time than we did to capture this attraction properly.  The way we work typically, is that we will spend an entire night with any given haunt, taking our time to scope it out and then shoot it completely until we're satisfied.  That wasn't the case this time around with Haunted Hotel simply because of our tight schedule, but hopefully, it won't be that evident to you.

Theme Park Adventure will absolutely spend ample time with Rob and the crew at The Haunted Hotel in 2010; and it's a shoot that I am already totally stoked and ready for.

However, considering the time spent, I feel that we got some great content to share with you - and what made that easy, is that The Haunted Hotel is extremely well done and highly photogenic.  That makes our job a hell of a lot easier than trying to shoot a crappy attraction.  Shooting a poorly-designed ride or attraction of any kind is a horrible challenge, because you have to make your subject look as good as possible.  And while that's not always 100% possible, we try our best always.

An hour at Haunted Hotel flew by.  And at the end, we were absolutely in love with it and its crew.

There is no singular theme that runs throughout the maze and after the beginning of the experience, you honestly don't think about the hotel at all.  The 2009 season was a mash-up of many different things - from A Nightmare on Elm Street to a subway, to a crazy weird old "retirement home" room.  It was just scene after scene of madness and terror - and everything was done very well.

My personal fave - and from what I have discussed with others, it was definitely a huge fan favorite this year - was a "subway car" that guests had to walk through.  The whole room moved like a subway car, lights strobed outside the train windows to suggest speed, and "real" monsters were mixed in with a host of fake decoys - you get the idea.  It was frigging amazing.  We got some images of it, but they don't do it justice.  Hopefully, this sequence will make it back in some form for the 2010 season - it's brilliant.

The talent at the Haunted Hotel was awesome.  Like I have said over and over (and will continue to), at the end of the day, it's all about the talent.  You can have a kick-ass maze like Haunted Hotel with incredibly well-designed elements and rooms and have a horrible team completely screw it all up.  Thankfully, Rob's team is totally into it and they get it that they're part of a beautiful haunt.  And they were all so happy to have us there, talking to them and taking their pictures - they truly are a cool group of people that we are already exited to work with next season.

If you haven't been to The Haunted Hotel and have ever considered visiting - DO IT.  Do it, and if the line is epic, so what?  Wait in line, have a great time and you will absolutely fall in love with The Haunted Hotel like Theme Park Adventure has.  You will thank us, and your Halloween haunt-hopping experience will be so much better for it.  I know that ours was.

Much thanks to Rob and his team - we had a blast and cannot wait to return next season to spend another glorious night checking out... no.. checking in to The Haunted Hotel.

On Wednesday, October 28th, 2009, Theme Park Adventure held its TERROR TOUR event, where we invited our readers to join us for a special evening of haunt-hopping across Orange County.

While the turn-out wasn't great (it doesn't help that 80% of our readership is employed as haunted attraction monsters, etc.), we made up for that by having an absolute BLAST across the OC!

Below are pics from Boot Hill yard display in Irvine, The Empty Grave haunted attraction in Anaheim and Sinister Pointe in Brea.  It was an evening filled with laughter, thrills and lots and lots of unflattering pictures!  Yay!  If it looks like a freaking great time and you find yourself wishing you were there with us, just ask yourself one thing: then why weren't you?

Next year, we'll see you there!